I'm Dumbledore's Girlfriend
by Lady Kaitlin
Summary: Minerva McGonagall is both shocked and infuriated when Dolores Umbridge tells her a bit of surprising news involving a relationship status. Minerva is determined to find out the validity of Umbridge's words and to do so involves confronting the headmaster. Contains some MMADness, if you catch my drift. *hint*
1. Unbelievable Interruption

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of the characters involved in books/movies.**

**Author's Note: Alright so I couldn't help but writing a fic between these two after seeing this video on youtube: watch?v=Agw2JAsG21Q **

**It will probably end up being around 5 chapters long when it is finished and I have an idea for a humorous spin off of this story that will involve and unusual war between McGonagall and Umbridge. This isn't the fist fic I've ever written, but it's my first Harry Potter fic. After recently falling in love with the series, I figured I'd give this a shot. Chapter 2 will be out fairly soon.**

**Feedback is loved and much appreciated. :)**

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Professor Minerva McGonagall stood at the front of her classroom a few minutes before the end of the mid-morning Transfiguration class. She paced the rows of desks with her face contorted in its usual frown and watched as the young witches and wizards finished up the task she had assigned to them for today.

"Now when all of you have finished turning the water goblets back into their original animal states, I will—" The professor began, but paused when she heard an all-too-familiar cough.

"Hem-hem?"

She glanced at the door and sure enough one of her fellow colleagues stood in its large wooden frame. It was Dolores Umbridge, a woman whom she had deemed as quite possibly the worst witch on the planet. Umbridge beamed a sickening smile at Minerva as she waited to be invited into the classroom. She had brown eyes and grey hair that was accented by one large curl dangling on the right side of her forehead. She was dressed head to toe in pink and many could not help but notice that she physically resembled many of the same traits as a toad. Minerva, on the other hand, wore her usual velvety, dark green robes that matched her eyes and a black pointed witch's hat that was slightly slanted to the right side of her head. Her black hair, now streak with grey from age, was pulled back in its normal tight bun.

Hatred began to boil inside the transformations professor as she stared at Umbridge. Her frown noticeably grew deeper. She clenched her fists a little tighter and sucked in half a breath before ignoring the woman at the door and carrying on with what she had been about to say to her students.

"—pass out your homework assignments for tonight. The essays do not have to be as long as the ones from last week as we have been focusing on the Vera Verto spell for some time now…"

"Hem-hem!"

"…however I still expect the assignments to be completed with the same amount of thought and quality as all of the others."

"HEM-HEM."

_How many goddamn times is she going to interrupt me?_ Minerva thought angrily.

"Professor Umbridge, I assure you that my ears are still fully functional. If you would please have some patience as class lets out in about two minutes." She finally retorted at the other woman across the room.

A few students turned their heads to see Umbridge's outline shadowing the door frame and there were a few follow up suppressed bursts of laughter. Minerva turned to the stack of papers on her desk, not bothering to wait for Umbridge's response, and tapped them lightly with her wand. The papers flew wildly in the air before landing on each of the student's desks.

"Make sure that if you borrowed an animal that it is properly secured back in its cage before leaving class!" Minerva gave a last shout to the students as they all began frantically packing up their belongings.

The bell chimed and all the children began quickly poured out the door of her classroom. Umbridge had to take a step back into the hallway to avoid being stampeded. After the children had all cleared out, Professor McGonagall slumped into her desk chair and began grading a set of fifth years' papers that had been handed in on the previous day.

"Hem-Hem."

"What could possibly be so important that you insist on pestering me this morning, _Dolores_?" Minerva said the woman's first name with pure disdain.

By now the lady in pink had realized she was not going to get a formal welcome into the classroom so she invited herself in past the door way and began walking towards Minerva's desk. Minerva winced at the sound of Umbridge's pink heels scoffing the floor as she came closer and closer. When Umbridge reached the desk, she placed both her hands firmly on its oak rim and smiled down at Minerva, who continued furiously correcting papers.

_Reminder: disinfect the desk later…no…the entire room._ Minerva made a mental note to herself.

She glanced up at Umbridge after a few moments where the woman had remained silent. Minerva internally winced at that infuriating, sugar-coated smile Dolores Umbridge never failed to wear. She could tell something was a little off about Umbridge, more than her usual incompetence anyway, as the lady rocked back and forth in clanking heels in front of the desk. Her pink overcoat continuously tapped and retreated from the wood. Her eyes showed a depth of sweetness mixed with the tainted idea of a sickening plan.

"Well? Spit it out for Merlin's sake!" Minerva snapped as she began to lose her patient, or rather the very little patience that had existed before hand.

"Why, Minerva, you're always so tense! Perhaps you too would benefit from being in a relationship again. Oh yes…I've come to tell you that I...I'm in a relationship now!" Dolores beamed an even wider smile.

Minerva moaned and focused back on her papers. Umbridge had sought her out to tell her about a relationship status? It was rather foolish of the pink toad to just waltz into Minerva's classroom and tell her such unimportant information. The two were nowhere close to being friends. Why would Dolores purposefully seek her out to exclaim this information? Couldn't she have boasted to someone else?

Anger had only escalated more inside Minerva when Umbridge had told her she'd "benefit" from another relationship. She had already gone through enough in that area. The first time she had loved it had resulted in her leaving behind a Muggle boy, Dougal McGregor, that sin order to remain in the magic world to which she belonged. It had been extremely difficult, especially when she heard news of his marriage to another woman that led to the eventual news of his death. She later happily married Elphinstone Urquart, but was devastatingly widowed when Elphinstone was bitten by a poisonous tarantula. There was only one man she thought she could ever possibly find love with again. He had been the only one who could sit through the most grievous periods of life with her. However, it had seemed most inappropriate to her to become entwined in a romantic relationship with this man due to his position in the school.

Although she was on the brinks of bursting with anger, humor and curiosity swelled through Minerva. She couldn't resist playing along with Dolores for a short bit longer.

"I should have known Cornelius would give in one of these days. Personally I would have advised him to stick with his first wife." Minerva replied with a smirk.

"Cornelius Fudge…a fine guess, but oh no, no, no…you are mistaken, Minerva!" Umbridge seemed even more excited, if that was possible, when Minerva had guessed wrong.

Minerva scribbled "Exceeds Expectations" with her quill on the essay that was situated at the top of the pile of papers. She slid the essay to the bottom of the pile before looking back up at Umbridge with one eyebrow slightly raised.

"Oh? You have another secret admirer?" Minerva questioned Umbridge with disbelief hinted in her words.

"Yes! Are you done guessing? Well then, I'll inform you that I'm Dumbledore's girlfriend!"

Minerva's heart skipped a beat and the quill dropped out of her hand, splattering ink spots all over the desk. Of all of the men that she had thought would ever even put up with Dolores (the list was very short), Albus Dumbledore was definitely not one of them. There was no way it could be remotely true. _Albus has much more sense than to date that incompetent pink monster_, Minerva thought.

"Albus? Surely such a wise and noble man would never stoop that low." She hissed under her breath, trying to convince herself that Umbridge was only out to annoying her.

"Yes, he does have to stoop a little lower to kiss me as I'm much shorter than him, I must admit."

She wanted to punch the smug, overly sweet smile right off of Dolores's face then and there, but maintained her composure as best as she could. Animosity spilled from Minerva's stare into Umbridge's cheerful eyes. The same cheerful eyes hinted that Umbridge had received the reaction she had hoped for from the transformation professor.

A tang of jealously encompassed Minerva as she recollected how much she had given up to dedicate her life to teaching at Hogwarts and being Dumbledore's loyal right hand woman. She had always admired the great wizard and would do anything for his sake. He had offered her a comforting shoulder on more than one occasion where she had stained his robes with tears. Albus almost always knew the right things to say and they shared a friendship like no other. He was _that_ man she could only ever offer love to again.

Yes, Minerva's heart admitted that she loved him although her mind had tried to deny it on many occasions. On top of trying to convince herself that a relationship between them was forbidden because he was her boss, her mind often made other excuses like that there was a large age gap between them (but Elphinstone had been many years older than her too) or that he simply could not possibly love her back. But after hearing Umbridge's words, it seemed her heart was starting to win and she couldn't stand seeing the woman in her classroom any longer.

"Do you not have a class to teach right now, Dolores?" Minerva said at last with a dismissive tone.

"Oh, why, yes you're right, I do. Until lunch then, Minerva." The woman rushed away to the door, but not before giving Minerva a final wave and satisfied smirk.

Minerva rolled her eyes and buried her face in her hands for a few moments. She would consult with Albus later to see if it really was true. She highly doubted it, but oh that Dolores Umbridge had put many jumbled up thoughts in her head. Even if there was no real relationship brewing, had Umbridge made a move on him? Did Dolores actually plant a kiss on the lips of Albus Dumbledore that had tempted Minerva so many times before?

She certainly had to find out the truth before a wave of emotions tore her to shreds. She was tempted to march right up to the headmaster's office now during her break; however, she promptly decided against it. She still needed some time to compose her thoughts, but she would track down the truth. Dolores Umbridge wasn't getting off the hook that easily.


	2. Seating Arrangement

**I just wanted to thank all of you that have reviewed this story so far, I truly appreciate all of the feedback. Here's chapter 2, I hope it was worth that few days wait! *runs off to start on chapter 3***

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Minerva half-expected Albus to show up in her empty classroom as she finished grading the remaining essays that were on her desk. He knew when all her breaks were, of course, and always seemed to appear out of nowhere to give her comfort when she needed it the most. She only disappointed herself, however, by thinking of this when the next bell chimed and a new wave of students poured into the room; she hadn't seen any trace of the headmaster.

The remaining time before lunch went by in a blur as the professor whizzed through her lesson plans for her two final morning classes. When the lunch bell chimed, Minerva rushed out of the classroom with her students into the bustling halls. She weaved her way into the Great Hall and marched to the High Table. She always sat in the same chair to the right side of Albus Dumbledore. She could certainly have the opportunity to talk to him during the hour long lunch period.

To Minerva's surprise, her usual seat was already occupied. Dolores Umbridge flashed her a gruesomely chipper smile as Minerva approached the chair. Minerva gave her an exceptionally angry and disapproving look.

"Good afternoon, Minerva! I hope you don't mind that I decided to sit here today. I was thinking as it does not particularly matter in which order the staff sits at this table, it would be most _fitting_ if I sat in this chair," Umbridge explained.

Minerva took a moment of silence to form her response. Albus was not yet sitting in his chair, but she assumed he would be walking into the hall any moment now. Not wanting to make a scene in front of all of the students, as much as she would have loved to strangle Umbridge, she decided to just find a seat elsewhere and give the vial woman two simple phrases.

"Yes, actually, I do mind. But, as it appears that you are reluctant to move, I will sit somewhere else."

_She would do much better off not thinking at all_, Minerva thought to herself and began looking for a new seat that she could settle in at the table.

Minerva caught sight of Professor Sprout who must have been observing the brief exchange over the chair. Sprout motioned to Madam Pomfrey to move over to the empty seat at her right side and Sprout moved over herself into Pomfrey's former seat. Sprout waved Minerva over and offered the now unoccupied seat between herself and Professor Flitwick, who was sitting two seats away from Umbridge. Professor Snape sat to the left of Flitwick and Hagrid was seated right between Snape and Umbridge. Minerva accepted with a quick nod and walked off to the group of familiar professors.

"Thank you, Pomona." She said with a relieved tone and flashed her friend a quick, rare smile.

Pomona Sprout smiled back and then contorted her face into a glare that she aimed directly at Umbridge.

"That bi…ouch… alright, alright Poppy… I mean, that awful _witch_!" Pomona said angrily and turned to look at the woman sitting next her who had given her a sharp elbow, detecting exactly what the Herbology professor had originally intended on vocalizing.

"There are students in this hall, Pomona." Poppy Pomfrey eyed her suspiciously, but gave an approving half smile. She turned to Minerva with a worried look.

"Did something happen, Minerva?" She asked over Pomona's shoulder.

"Yes, please do fill us in." Pomona followed with curiosity hinted in her words.

"Possibly…well, yes…" Minerva began, but cut herself off when she caught sight of Albus walking towards the High Table.

"I'll explain later." She decided as there were far too many unworthy ears in the hall and that it would be best if she told her good friends what Umbridge had told her earlier in private.

As Albus reached the table, he gave Minerva a confused and concerned look, noticing the new seating arrangement. She was slightly surprised about this, but replied by frowning and quickly tilting her head towards Umbridge's direction. His former expression melted into a smile as he scanned the long four tables of students and his blue eyes twinkled as usual. He briefly paused on the way over to his chair when he reached Minerva and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"I have some matters to discuss with you later, my dear." Albus whispered in her ear, his long white beard tickling the side of her face.

"And I have many questions to ask you myself." She replied in the same hushed voice.

She could have sworn she saw his cheeks turn a slight darker shade of pink (which she found to be odd) before he flashed her a curious smile and continued on to his chair. Once he sat down, Umbridge began to swarm him with idle chatter and making a point to constantly keep touching his arm. Albus seemed courteous at first, but after a while tried to move his arm out of her reach and turned to talk to Madam Pince, who was sitting in the seat to his left.

"It appears as if we have a staff member who is unaware of the current, usual seating arrangement at this table." Severus Snape said loud enough to make sure Dolores Umbridge heard him clearly and gave Minerva a quick glance.

"Oh, good afternoon Professor Snape! She leaned forward so that she could see him over Hagrid's large arm and beamed another ridiculous smile.

Snape only replied with silence and daggers in his eyes. He too couldn't stand Dolores Umbridge. She was teaching the class that Snape had been after for years and he thought of her as just an overall insufferable person. Minerva watched as he returned to his meal and ignored whatever else Umbridge was attempting to ask him. Minerva smirked and looked back to Pomona when she heard the woman mumbling.

"Hmm now that I think about it, perhaps you should have sat in the headmaster's lap instead of here." Sprout said to Minerva and dabbed a bit of dirt off of her face with the cloth napkin that had been sitting on her lap.

"Pomona! That would be most inappropriate at a time like this!" Poppy said sternly and Pomona only shrugged.

Poppy sighed and refolded her own napkin into a perfect square after she had wiped her left cheek free of some crumbs. Minerva heard Professor Flitwick chuckle next to her and he patted her leg gently.

"Don't worry, Minerva, I doubt Umbridge will continue sitting there for long." He reassured her.

She was glad for all the support, but at the same time she couldn't help sadly staring at Albus. She watched as Umbridge exclaimed something inaudible to Albus. He raised an eyebrow and replied something also unable to be heard before chuckling. Minerva sighed at the sight of their exchange, but she was confused by the brief flash of anger that shone across Umbridge's face. It only existed for a few split seconds before being again contained by a smile.

Albus caught her eyes and quickly mouthed the word "announcements." Minerva understood what he meant and rose half way out of her seat with a nod. She picked up her spoon and began to ritually tap her glass a few times to silence the students. However, after only one tap on her glass she saw Umbridge promptly rise from her seat and point her wand at the students.

"Quiet everyone! SILENCIO!" Umbridge jabbed her wand in the students direction and immediately all their voices were silenced.

A few of the teachers gasped and Minerva scowled at Umbridge. The charm that had been cast was only temporary, of course, but completely unnecessary. All Minerva usually had to do was tap her glass with her spoon a few times and ask for the student's attention. They would all quiet down and await Dumbledore's announcements, whether these announcements were serious or humorous nonsense. Never would she ever use a spell on the students to silence them. Not only was it cruel, but in Minerva's eyes the gesture seemed insulting and rude among other things.

"Professor Umbridge, that is not how we treat students at this school! A charm like that is inappropriate and not be used at a time like this!" She exclaimed to the other woman.

"Oh I wasn't aware that you were making announcements today, Professor McGonagall?" Umbridge smirked.

Green and brown eyes clashed at each other. Albus rose from his seat and examined the two bickering women. Most of the other professors pretended to be busy eating. Normally, Minerva would sit back down when Albus stood out of respect to what he was saying, but there was no way she was going to put up with what Umbridge was doing and saying. Before she could form a reply, the headmaster beat her to it.

"She's not. Professor McGonagall was simply stating our school policy."

He turned to look at Umbridge with a hint of irritation in his expression. He waved a hand over the students to release them from the charm. Umbridge sat down looking defeated and Minerva remained standing for a moment longer to make sure Albus caught her mouth a "thank you."

He nodded with a smile and she fell back into her seat, glad he had defended her. She listened to his announcements intently. When he was finished, Minerva watched as Hagrid excitedly began talking with the headmaster. His arm swiped across Umbridge's plate accidentally, splattering some food onto her pink outfit. She looked utterly disgusted and began scolding him. Hagrid looked down at his feet uncomfortably. Minerva looked away and turned once again to face Pomona who was chatting away with Poppy.

"Pomona, I am going to hold a partial staff meeting during the last few minutes of lunch. Please tell Poppy, Severus, Filius, Hagrid (if he's done being scolded), and Rolanda (if you can find her)." Minerva whispered to Professor Sprout before she stood from her chair.

"Minerva, where are going? You should at least eat something first!" Poppy fussed as Minerva began to walk away from her seat.

She hadn't touched her plate at all, but she didn't have the slightest appetite. Too many thoughts were dancing in her mind.

"Pomona will tell you and I'm not hungry." She said quickly before departing from Great Hall and making her way to the empty staff room.


	3. Odd Statement

**I was having some issues with my laptop earlier last week so I'm afraid it took quite a while to write this chapter. However, here's chapter 3 and the next chapter should be on it's way shortly. Thank you once again for all the reviews, keep them coming!**

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The staff room was eerily quiet when Minerva opened its large wooden doors and sat down at the head of the long table. She tapped her long fingers against the solid table as she awaited the friends she had invited to attend the meeting. She contemplated what exactly she was going to tell them about Umbridge, but she hoped that perhaps some of them had an idea as to what exactly was going on.

It wasn't long before Poppy burst into the room flanked by Pomona and Rolanda. Severus filed into the room more slowly a few feet behind the three women. He took a seat at the table, but the three women remained standing and stared down intently at Minerva.

"What exactly is going on, Minerva? Pomona informed me about the meeting and we ran into Rolanda along the way. Or rather, she ran right into us." Poppy began and placed a gentle hand on her good friend's shoulder.

"I had a lot to do this afternoon so I was coming into lunch late when I ran into these two who were practically tearing the doors of the Great Hall off their hinges." Rolanda agreed and gestured to Poppy and Pomona.

"Pomona told me that it appears as if you've got some juicy gossip for us?" The flying instructor's eyes shone with intense curiosity.

"Yes, something of the sort." Minerva confirmed.

"Well, do tell!" The intensity in her eyes deepened.

"Earlier today while I was teaching...wait, where are Hagrid and Filius?" Minerva began, but noticed the two other friends she had intended on summoning to the meeting were not yet in the room.

"Ah, I told Filius straight away about the meeting before Poppy and I left, but he insisted on staying until Hagrid was done being scoffed. Severus was eager to come straight along with us, though." Pomona shot Severus a quick glance.

"I couldn't suffer through another round of bothersome questioning. I was afraid she was going to ask what my favorite shade of pink was next." Severus snickered at the thought.

"Filius said it was alright if you began without them since there's not much time until lunch ends." Poppy added.

Minerva glanced at the large grandfather clock and saw that Poppy was correct. The bell to signal the end of lunch would be chiming in less than ten minutes.

"Alright, as I was saying, when I was teaching this morning, Dolores Umbridge interrupted the end of my class." She started again and noticed a few eye rolls from her group of friends and fellow colleagues.

Minerva explained to them how Umbridge had given her some relationship "advice" and how it had aroused some painful memories.

"She's the last woman on the planet I'd ever ask for dating advice." Rolanda huffed.

Pomona mumbled something that Minerva couldn't make out, but it had earned the Herbology professor another sharp elbow from Poppy.

"What? There are no students here this time!" Pomona rubbed her arm and glared at Poppy who was staying focused on Minerva.

"She also mentioned that she was apparently now dating, um, our headmaster."

Minerva heard bursts of outrage and many shocked faces. Only Severus seemed to have remained composed as he mentally mulled over some strange thought.

"What? She must be lying!" Poppy frowned and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Impossible!" Rolanda hollered and shot a confused glance at Severus, who was now rising out of his seat.

"There's no way our headmaster would be so foolish." Pomona agreed with the other two women.

"Might be true." Hagrid's voice flooded into the room as he and Filius entered.

"Hello Hagrid, Filius. Glad you could finally join us." Minerva said simply, wondering what Hagrid was talking about.

"I was thinkin' abou' somethin' Dumbledore was sayin' earlier. Remember what it was, Severus?" Hagrid sat down next to the potions master, who had returned to his seat after opening the door for the two newcomers.

"Yes, it was an odd statement to hear from the headmaster." Severus considered the instance Hagrid was referring to from a few hours prior on that same day.

"Care to explain this _odd_ statement to the rest of us?" Minerva frowned at them impatiently.

"I was getting there." Severus returned her frown with a sarcastic one of his own.

"Well get there a little faster, please, we've only got about three minutes until lunch is over." She sighed and engraved her eyes into the clock.

"Ah yes…well as Hagrid mentioned, it occurred early this morning. We were discussing topics pertaining to new lesson plans for next year's students with the headmaster in his office. Afterwards, he provided both Hagrid and I with tea. He was a little clumsy making it and accidentally knocked a picture frame off of his desk. Hagrid tried to offer to help, but Dumbledore waved him away and hastily picked up the picture himself. I, jokingly, asked if it was a photograph of his secret lover." Severus smirked before continuing.

"But his reaction was rather surprising. It has been a long time since I have seen Dumbledore blush. He claimed it was simply a picture of a cat, an old family pet. However, he did respond to my joke." The potions professor smirked once more and glanced at Hagrid.

Just then the bell chimed its end of lunch signal before the story could be finished. The professors that had gathered in the staff room began to disperse disappointingly from the room. They offered Minerva a few words and apologies for having to run off to their classes. She was still focused on the story, however, and remained behind, waiting for Severus.

"What did he say, Severus?" Minerva inquired as she and Severus were the last ones to depart from the room.

"In a small whisper he told me, 'however, the woman I am in love with does indeed have a fondness of cats.' I was not aware that he was actually in love with someone, hmm." Severus told her quickly before they carried on their separate ways to their classrooms.

Minerva sighed heavily as she made her way through the classroom doors and to her desk.

_She and I both like cats…_


	4. Quill Marks and Cats

**Sorry this chapter took so long to come out and I apologize in advance for any grammar mistakes I may have made. I have been tremendously busy in real life, but I hope to update more frequently soon. The last chapter will be next so keep a look out!**

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The time period between lunch and dinner went by very slowly for Minerva McGonagall. She carried on teaching her classes as usual and waited for dinner time. At the very beginning of her first class, a small, brown barn owl arrived behind the last few students who rushed to their seats. The owl flew straight to Minerva and stuck out his leg to which there was a letter attached. She untied the letter and offered what she now recognized as one of the school owls a biscuit.

The students made a dull roar of chatter as she carefully unrolled the letter on her desk. She sighed and stared at the paper angrily when she recognized the unmistakable pink stationery. It read:

_ Minerva,_

_ When you have a moment could you please meet me in my office? I would love to hear your opinion on what I should get Dumbledore as a gift tonight to celebrate our first day with each other!_

_ P.S. I was walking by your classroom earlier when you disappeared from lunch and cleaned up your desk a bit. I hope you don't mind!_

_ Dolores_

Minerva rolled her eyes and frowned at the new organization of her desk. _It was perfectly fine the way it was before!_

She had already formed a reply to Dolores's letter in her head before picking up the nearest quill:

_ Dolores,_

_ I am booked all day and actually care to attend to my job, but from what I recall Aberforth is fond of goats._

_ P.S. I do mind actually, but once again, it appears as if I am too late to stop you._

_ Minerva_

Minerva smirked and began scribbling her response. She had only managed to write "Dolores" when a sudden pain shot through her right hand. She dropped the quill and clenched her fist as letters etched themselves into it in the form of red welts. She bit her lip to stop herself from cursing in front of the students. She picked up her wand with her left hand and transfigured the _blood quill_ that had purposefully placed on her desk into a small black bird.

_There's only one person who could have put that there_, she thought to herself and turned around to open a window. The black bird looked at Minerva and the window curiously.

"Well..shoo!" She waved her left hand at the bird. He dodged her hand and made a beeline for the window.

She closed the window behind him and turned to face her class. Quickly conscious of the gruesome marks now embroidered on her hand, Minerva pulled down her right sleeve to avoid any curious questions from the students.

"Good afternoon, class. Today we will be learning how to transform...quills into small black birds." She addressed her class, replacing her old lesson plan with this newly inspired one.

The lesson was very successful as every student completed the task and birds flew freely around the professor's room. Before Minerva knew it the bell was chiming again and her second class filled into the room. She introduced them into a similar lesson, but because these students were older she tried to have each of them turn the quill into a unique bird species. This turned out to be alright, except for a boy and two girls who accidentally created very strange looking bird crossbreeds. The end of class chime sounded and she found herself chasing down a few students (and a few of the birds that had escaped behind them) who had darted out of the room without the homework assignment. As for the birds, she managed to turn all of them into non-living objects before they got very far. She had tracked down every empty handed student besides a Slytherin girl who had been the first one to leave the room.

"Miss Bulstrode, don't forget your assignment!" Minerva shouted and started speed walking towards the Slytherin girl.

The professor shoved a piece of paper containing the assignment into Miss Bulstrode's hands. The Slytherin looked embarrassingly at the floor as Minerva frowned and shook her head. Before Miss Bulstrode could fully respond, however, Minerva stormed back towards her classroom. It was a bit difficult to navigate through the extremely crowded halls but she was used to it by now after so many years of teaching.

About a minute later she reached the oak doors of her classroom and stepped inside. She finally would have a few minutes for a break before the students had to rush back to their classes. As she turned around and before she had a chance to even glance at her desk, her sharp feline senses kicked in and her ears picked up a familiar voice humming a tune.

"Hello, Albus. Are you looking for anything in particular over there?" She now looked in the direction of the humming and caught the sight of twinkling blue eyes.

"Ah, good afternoon, Minerva. Yes, I'm afraid that Professor Umbridge has informed me that she appears to have a case of a missing quill." He chuckled and scanned the surface of her desk.

"What a shame." Minerva said dryly.

"Indeed, she mentioned that perhaps she left it in your classroom earlier, on your desk. Now I assumed it did not just get up and walk away. Unless, of course, one of the students has touched it." He ran his hand slowly over the wood trying now to see if there was an indication of spell keeping the quill hidden.

"No students have touched anything on my desk, Albus. And you are quite right, it did not just "walk" away. It flew away." She smirked and strode towards her desk.

"Hmm...I did see a strange black bird outside my window sill just a few moments ago. He was perched on branch and singing a most dreadful song about a certain professor shooing him out of her window." He chuckled again as she resumed a spot beside him behind the desk.

"What a strange bird." She gave him a rare genuine smile.

"I believe I just now saw a sight even stranger, though...Professor McGonagall is capable of displaying a smile!" He laughed as Minerva fiercely frowned and gave him a hard shoulder shove.

"I do fully experience joyful emotions just like any other witch, you know."

"I am fully aware." He grinned mischievously and placed a hand on her shoulder before she could throw another blow.

"But it is a shame you do not show those emotions more often, especially for the students. You have a wonder smile." The last part was barely audible, but having a cat animagus has its many perks for Minerva.

"Thank you." She smiled up at him again and leaned into the arm still resting on her shoulder.

"I also meant to inform you there's a stack of paperwork waiting for you in your office…"

"Great." She exclaimed sarcastically.

"...and I wanted to invite you to my office shortly after dinner for a chess match. As wells as to discuss the things I mentioned at lunch time that I wanted to discuss."

"Of course, we will need a discussion after chess so I can brag about how many times I beat you again." She reluctantly lifted her head away from his arm so that she could turn to face him and flash a nasty grin.

"Perhaps, but I have beat Severus multiple times in the past two days now, you know." He returned her grin and pushed his half moon spectacles a little further up his nose.

"Oh please, Severus couldn't even beat a hippogryph at that game." She rolled her eyes.

"That would be a truly interesting match." Albus chuckled.

Before Minerva could respond, he reached out a hand to brush a strand of dark grey hair out of her face. She found herself now speechless as their eyes locked for a moment and he moved closer.

"Minerva, I…"

"Ah! There you are Albus! Did you find my quill?" Dolores stamped into the room and slammed the door shut behind her. Albus quickly turned away from Minerva.

"I'm afraid it has grown a pair of wings." He replied with a smile, but the usual twinkle in his eyes had suddenly disappeared.

Minerva aggravatingly frowned at Dolores. _What had Albus been about to say to me?_

"Wings? Oh hello Minerva, I didn't think you would be here."

"Why would I not be? This is my classroom...as I am positive that you know by now." She replied sharply.

"Quite right...anyway, Albus, dear, would you please come to my office so we can discuss something else in private?" Dolores ignored Minerva's glare and smiled sweetly at the headmaster.

He, however, shot her a confused glance and turned to look at the classroom door where a few students were now nervously waiting outside of the room.

"Later, Professor Umbridge, I am in the middle of a rather ingenious plan." His eyes twinkled again with mischief as he turned to Minerva.

"Minerva, you have first years this last class before dinner, am I correct?"

"Yes and keeping them behind that door is keeping them from their studies." She turned away from him and waved her wand at the door.

"Wonderful...come in! Come in!" Albus waved to the students who were stumbling into the door just as the final bell chimed.

_Only one more hour until dinner, but what in the name of Merlin is he up to?_ Minerva wondered and watched the first years take their seats. As she began to open her mouth to explain the day's lesson, Albus's voice beat her to it.

"Welcome, students! For the first part of class today you will all have a very special transfiguration lesson taught by yours truly!" He smiled at all the students and received a few claps.

"Exactly how many lemon drops have you consumed today?" Minerva hissed at Albus and shot an irritated glance at Dolores who remained in the classroom on the opposite side of the headmaster.

"Perhaps a few more than usual. Have the first years seen you animagus form yet?" He whispered and winked at her before continuing to speak to the students.

"Once or twice." She replied and turned to face her students.

"Today's lesson will involve the transformation of our two lovely professors, McGonagall and Umbridge, into cats!"

There were a few excited gasps from the students and Minerva couldn't help but smirk when she saw terror shadow Dolores's face.

"Now, watch closely." He pulled out his wand and turned towards Minerva.

"Would you mind transforming, my dear? I'd rather not use a real spell on you if I can help it." He asked her quietly and she swore his cheeks turned a little pinker like that had at lunch.

"Of course not." She half smiled back at him.

He cleared his throat and made a few fake gestures with his wand at Minerva.

"Tranformo tabbio!"

"That's not even remotely Latin." She grumbled, but closed her eyes and concentrated on transforming into her animagus form. It was not long before she opened them again and was staring up at a much larger room through feline eyes. She balanced on her back legs and quickly sprung herself up onto her desk to once again see everyone's height normally. She circled around the corner of the desk a bit before curling up between a stack of papers and Albus's right arm. Her eyes glanced around at all the first years who seemed excitedly impressed.

"This spell can also be performed with non-verbal magic!" He exclaimed and turned now to Umbridge.

Her eyes darted back and forth as Albus waved his wand once again. This time Minerva noticed it was a real, skillful wave; he was using an actual spell on Dolores.

"Meow!" A white Persian cat plopped to the floor of Minerva's classroom.

The students all burst into laughter as Professor Umbridge panicked and also attempted to also jump on Minerva's desk. She missed the first time and brought a pile of papers, ink bottles, and quills crashing down with her. Minerva was upset about the scattered supplies but at the same time couldn't help but be utterly amused by Dolores the cat's awful coordination. The cat tried twice more before finally giving up and prancing towards the door. Albus chuckled and began petting Minerva's head.

"Professor Umbridge I assure you it will not be easy to undo that spell on yourself while you are still a cat. And, as far as I know, cats cannot open door knobs in their natural form." Albus reminded the Persian who was hissing at him. She finally decided to head back towards the front of the room and curled up at the headmaster's feet.

"Hmm this could be an enjoyable opportunity." Albus winked at the students and carefully maneuvered around the two cats. He plopped down in Minerva's chair.

The students continued laughing as he began reading a few of the papers on Minerva's desk. He held up a paper and pushed his glasses a little farther up the bridge of his nose.

"What a delightful paper...I would have certainly given this an "Exceeds Expectations". Or avoided Professor McGonagall's grading system as much as possible." He chuckled and Minerva angrily jumped onto his lap.

She playfully swatted at his beard and let out an annoyed growl. He patted the top of her head once more, which offered Minerva the perfect opportunity for a comeback; she shut her eyes and focused once more. In seconds she was back in her human form and awkwardly sitting in Albus's lap.

"That was insulting. I am a fair grader, you know." She huffed and crossed her arms.

"I apologize, Professor. I am sure the students are very fond of your grading system." He looked around her shoulder and shook his head at the students.

"Well now that that is established and since I'm already here, I would like to get my Christmas list over with, Mr. Claus. A new set of paper, quills, and ink this yeat will do." She smirked at him and hopped off of his lap.

"That's not for another month, professor, but I will keep that in mind." He chuckled and glanced down at the cat form of Umbridge.

He waved his wand and she returned to her normal, horrid pink self. Dolores huffed and quickly straightened out her dress.

"Thank you for that lovely demonstration, Professor Dumbledore, but can we please leave Minerva to teach her own class? I have a few things to discuss with you if you have a moment since I do not presently have a class to teach." She shot a sweet look at Albus and began heading towards the door.

Albus nodded and began following her out the door. As he reached for the doorknob, he turned to the students and wished them all luck with the rest of their transfiguration class. Minerva glared at him for this; "I am a fair teacher, you know or you wouldn't have hired me!"

"True. I will see all of you at dinner!" He smiled and locked eyes with Minerva for a split second before completely leaving the room.

Minerva watched as he cheerfully followed Dolores down the hallway. She sighed and focused her attention back to her students, who were starting to recover from all the laughter.

"Since it appears Professor Dumbledore has taken up quite a bit of time of my class today with that little trick, you may all take the rest of class off to do other work until the dinner bell. I need to straightened out this mess of a desk. No homework tonight." She informed them and turned to stare at the mess surrounding her desk.

A few students were shocked at Minerva's lack of homework and unsure what to do with their free time. It was a very rare chance transfiguration class involved any free time, but they glad accepted it.

Minerva flicked her wand at her desk to clean the mess she just could teach anymore when her mind kept wandering back to Albus.

_Why exactly had Dolores insisted he come to her office? And what exactly am to him…?_


End file.
